Man who hurled abuse at Clacton naked cyclists hit with fine

Sam Smith, 27, was hauled before the courts after two participants of Clacton’s annual naked bike ride told police he had hurled abuse at them in the street.

Victim Robert Brown, who has organised the annual rideout in Clacton for seven years, said eggs were also thrown at riders during the 2019 event.

Mr Brown, 53, said: “This guy thought we were the ones breaking the law, he clearly didn’t want us there.

“My mum and dad come from East London. I used to hear bad language all the time but the language he used was far worse than anything I have heard.

“It was disgusting behaviour and horrible language and I don’t think he realised we had it all on camera.”

Threatening behaviour: The confrontation was snapped on camera by the riders

The second victim, Alan Henderson, was riding to raise money for the National Autistic Society.

Smith, of Dudley Road, Clacton, admitted two charges of using threatening, abusive or insulting words when he appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court.

He was fined £180 and ordered to pay £50 in compensation to each victim.

Organised annual naked bike rides take place across the world with events held in Colchester and Clacton.

The rides have the purpose of protesting against a dependency on car culture and to expose the vulnerability of cyclists in traffic.

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Although nudity is optional, Mr Brown said riding naked also served the purpose of promoting a positive body image.

“We believe this is the first successful prosecution of someone acting in this way against naturists,” he said.

“Whenever newspapers write about us it’s always as if we’re some sort of joke, or there are jokes to be made at our expense.

“The wording is always full of puns or bad jokes.

“But we always want to get across this main point: We’re not the ones breaking the law.

“The law is clear on this and we’re getting really annoyed at journalists treating us like we’re a joke.

“We hope this prosecution will help the courts in the future when naturists or protestors are subjected to verbal abuse.”